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News of the Day ... In Perspective

6/21/2007

CDC wastes hundreds of millions of dollars, Coburn report says

According to the first in a series of reports that will examine the operation of federal agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wastes hundreds of millions of tax dollars, while it keeps asking for more (press release 6/12/07).

Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D., (R-OK) highlighted the use of syphilis prevention funds to host a “safe-sex” event with a porn star, while rates of the disease climbed 68% in men, and the use of HIV/AIDS prevention funds for a transgender beauty pageant.

The CDC’s annual budget increased by more than 350% since 1995, and HIV/AIDS funding has more than doubled since 2001.

Yet despite the expenditure of $5 billion over 7 years on HIV/AIDS prevention, there are still 40,000 new cases in the U.S. each year, with no decrease in infection rates for more than a decade. The Inspector General finds that of the CDC’s $2.6 billion in HIV/AIDS grants, some have no objectives and are said to be “abysmal,” but are funded anyway.